December 30, 2016

Psalm 45

“Hear, O daughter, and consider … Since He is your Lord, bow to Him.” Ps. 45:10-11

This is the third step in the process of our glorification as Christ’s bride. The pre-step is God’s choice of His bride. The first step was for us to hear and incline ourselves toward God. The second step is then for us to forget our past, pick up our cross, and follow Him.

This third step is encapsulated in the Psalmist’s simple statement that we, as Christ’s bride, should “bow to Him,” since He is our Lord.

This simple command sounds strange to Western ears, and particularly to Americans, where we say proudly that “we bow down to no man.” But, of course, Jesus is God, so he is not mere man. But, still, we like to think of ourselves as equal to God and, therefore, it is easier in our mindset to call Him “friend” then it is to call Him “Lord.”

But for the wedding feast to be truly glorious, for the bride to enjoy all of the benefits of hope, peace, love, and charity which God brings into the relationship, the bride must bow, the bride must be obedient to the Lord’s commands.

As we reach the end of the year and look forward to the new year, it is time for reflection and resolution, reflection on the past and resolution for the future.

As we look over the past year in our walk with God, have we really, really been obedient to His call on our lives, to His commands for life, or to His personal request that we become holy like He is? We may have heard the good news of Christ and inclined our ear, and we may have gathered around us our church friends, leaving our past behind, but have we really “bowed to Him?” Have we given up our selfish ways? Have we subordinated self to His glory, His ways, His truth, and His life? Instead of just asking ourselves “What would Jesus do,” have we actually done what Jesus has told us to do?

Many of us, myself included, are weak Christians. We talk a game, but we do not walk it. We have heard the good news and proclaim trust in Christ, but we trust ourselves and our friends and our wealth and the world more. We do not walk in holiness; in fact, if we are honest, we barely make acquaintance with the concept.

But that is the past, and it need not be the future. The work of God is to transform us, first by giving us a new life in Him and then training us, bringing us up from infants into maturity as His disciples.

Let’s all take on a New Year’s resolution that very well may be the hardest thing we have ever done. Let us resolve to begin each day by “bowing to Him.” Let’s be obedient to our Lord.

What does this look like? I think it is simpler than we think. If He says love, we love. If He says rest, we rest. If He says talk to Me, we talk to Him. If He says “walk through that door,” we take the step of faith into the unknown (to us).

Resolved, that I put Him first and me second. And for that, we need help. Come Holy Spirit!